Roll supports for automatic wrapping machines

ABSTRACT

A plurality of vertically spaced rolls of wrapping material are supported at one end of a wrapping machine, one of which is in an operative position where the web of material is being fed through the machine, and the others are in a storage position. The support for the operative position of each roll includes a driving shaft and an idler shaft on which the roll rests and is adjacent the storage support therefor to which the roll may be transferred by mere manual force when not in use.

United States Patent Inventor Erik 0. Vilen [56] References Cited Niles.UNITED STATES PATENTS $1 5 [969 1,067,692 7/1913 Thompson 24255.31,587,540 6/l926 Maynard 242/55.3 Famed 1 701 361 211929 Ell 11 242/ 3Assignec Triangle Package Machinery Company Chicago In 3,239,993 3/l966Chernn 53/390 X original appncafion Apr. 27,19675". 3,367,589 2/[968Chant,Jr.et al 242/553 X No. 632,959, now Patent No. 3,486,294. PrimaryExaminer-Stanley N. Gilreath Divided and thm application Aug. 26, 1969,Assistant Examiner-Werner H. Schroeder Ser. No. 853,142 AnomeyJohnston,Root, O'Keeffe, Keil, Thompson &

Shurtletf ROLL SUPPORTS FOR AUTOMATIC WRAPPING MACHINES ABSTRACT: Aplurallty of vertlcally spaced rolls of wrapping 4 Clams 30 Draw'ngmaterial are supported at one end of a wrapping machine, one U.S. Cl .1242/55, of which is in an operative position where the web of material242/66, 242/68.7 is being fed through the machine, and the others are ina lnt.Cl ..Bh /02, storage position. The support for the operativeposition of B65h l7/l2 each roll includes a driving shaft and an idlershaft on which Field of Search 242/54, 55, the roll rests and isadjacent the storage support therefor to 55.2, 55.3, 58.2, 65, 66, 67.1,67.3, 68, 68.7, 78.7, which the roll may be transferred by mere manualforce when 79; 53/66, 390 not in use.

272 21s 99 266 ;.1 268 211 I o W 58 68 W 1 I '--u-- 111 ae 111121 234 T,1 -"E 1...

191 11 i 4 I 217 218 2a 232 i 2 231 t 236 226 a? o m I PATENTEI] JUL61971 SHEET 05 [1F ERIK O. VILEN BY wNN wnm mnu w in 0mm m5 m5 0? mm 0 Iwe 2N 8h 08 PATENTED JUL 6 I97! SHEET 08 HF INVENTOR: E R l K 0. VI L EN ATT'YS PATENTEDJUL 6I97| 34590.90? SHEET U'IUF 1 I I 4 we 68 w 76 97I72 use 79 INVENTOR- ERIK O. VILEN BY ,WOZ W, M, Wink/M ATT'YZPATENTEDJIJL SIB?! 3590807 SHEET 080F 11 J, FIG. 20

I740 .4 l I Q "HHIH Y ERIK O. VILEN WWW/0 Mk PATENTEU JUL sum 3590807sum 09 0F 11 E INVENTOR. ERIK 0. WHEN WWMOW PATENTEU JUL 6 l9?! SHEET 10HF 11 E RI K OQVI L EN 3 W avid/( ROLL SUPPORTS FOR AUTOMATIC WRAPPINGMACHINES This is a division of my earlier filed, copending US. Pat.application, Ser. No. 632,959 filed Apr. 24, 1967, now US. Pat. No.3,486,294.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is directed to an automaticwrapping machine for wrapping packages and is completely automatic asdistinguished from the semiautomatic wrapping machines wherein aninitial wrap is performed by hand before placement in the machine.

In the present machine a package is conveyed by an infeed conveyor and acrossfeed conveyor to a wrapping station consisting of a platform and aninfeed pusher member. The infeed pusher pushes the package through avertically hanging web of wrapping material onto a table, whereupon theleading end of the wrapping material is positioned below the package andextends upwardly around the advancing edge of the package. The web ofmaterial is furnished from a roll located at one end of the machine andwhich initially positions the web from above the platform and table to aposition therebelow, and the leading end thereof is held againstmovement until the package is pushed therethrough onto the table.

Thereafter, a folder bar normally positioned above the table is causedto move downwardly carrying with it the web of wrapping material untilthe folder bar reaches a gripper bar positioned below the table. A bightof the wrapping material, then, is gripped between the folder bar andgripper bar.

The table, with the package thereon, together with the film grippedbetween the folder bar and gripper bar, all move downwardly. A cuttingedge is fixed between the table and platform and during the downwardmovement of the table a wedge or blade member wedges the web of materialover the cutting edge and behind it, so that a bight of the material isformed over the cutting edge. Continued movement downwardly of thetable, package, folder bar and gripper bar with the materialtherebetween, causes the material to be cut by pulling it across thecutting edge.

When the lowering table reaches its lowermost position, the package ismoved by an outfeed pusher from the lowering table onto a receivingtable which thereupon causes a tucking of the wrapping material andcauses the trailing end of the wrapping material to be folded along thebottom of the package in overlapping relation with that portion of theleading end thereof which had theretofore been brought against thepackage bottom. A slight movement upwardly of a pair of spaceddownfolder supports lifts the package above the receiving table whichwill cause the outwardly extending ends of the wrapping material to bepartially folded downwardly, whereupon a continuously moving conveyormoves the package through and beyond stationary plows to fold theremaining ends of the wrapping material upwardly against the bottom ofthe package. The package is then conveyed to a heating element to sealthe ends of the wrap against the bot tom of the package. In the eventthe wrapping material used is heat shrinkable, then the package willfurther be conveyed through a heat tunnel to shrink the material aboutthe package.

There are numerous novel features involved in the present inventionwhich have advantages over automatic wrapping machines heretofore known.In the past, the package to be wrapped has been either delivered fromthe wrapping station at a higher level or at the same level as theinitial level of the package. In the present machine, the package ismoved downwardly during the wrapping operation and thus enables a novelarrangement where the wrapped package may be returned to the machineoperator. The operator merely places the package to be wrapped on theinfeed conveyor which is in itially positioned at a convenient heightfor the operator. The package, after being wrapped, is returned to thesame place but at a slightly lower level, whereupon the operator needonly scoop a plurality of wrapped packages onto a third conveyor havinga still lower level, if desired, for removal from the machine andplacement in a store area to be sold.

A feature of the invention is an automatic control for determining theproper length of wrapping material for any given package regardless ofits length or height. Other features include a novel feeding arrangementfor the web of wrapping material, a novel storage arrangement for thewrapping material, a novel heat-sealing device, and other novel andadvantageous features, all of which will be described in greater detailhereinafter. In view of the foregoing, therefore, it is a principalobject of the present invention to provide a fully automatic wrappingmachine which is so arranged as to be more efficient than thoseheretofore known in that the wrapped package is returned to the samemachine operator who originally placed the package to be wrapped ontothe infeed conveyor.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic wrappingmachine wherein the infeed conveyor on which the operator places apackage to be wrapped is located at a level convenient for him andwherein the outfeed conveyor, which returns the wrapped package to thesame operator at the same place, is at a slightly lower level, therebyenabling a substantially horizontal infeed and outfeed of the package ina relatively small area.

A further object is to provide in an automatic wrapping machine acontrol whereby the length and height ofa package will automaticallydetermine the length of wrapping material necessary to completely andproperly wrap the package.

A still further object of the invention is to provide in an automaticwrapping machine a lowering table onto which the package is movedthrough a vertically hanging web of wrapping material, which table ismoved to a lower level for completion of the wrapping of the package,whereby the package is covered at all times as it passes through themachine.

Yet another object is to provide a novel arrangement of supports for thewrapping material in a wrapping machine whereby a plurality of rolls ofdifferent sizes may be stored for easy access by the machine operator tochange from one size to another without the necessity oflifting any ofthe rolls from the machine.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel arrangementof wrapping material rolls to facilitate threading of the web ofmaterial through the various rollers to the wrapping station.

Another object is to provide in a fully automatic wrapping machine anarrangement for automatically maintaining a length of web from a roll ofwrapping material to the wrapping station between a predeterminedminimum and maximum.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a package wrappingmachine a novel heat-sealing device for sealing the underfolded ends ofa heat scalable wrapping material against the bottom of the package.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent uponreading the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a schematic, side elevationalview of a wrapping machine embodying certain novel features of thepresent invention; I

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the machine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a somewhat enlarged side elevational view of a wrappingmachine embodying the present invention, but showing the machine ingreater detail;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the machine shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic layout showing the general arrangement of anelectrical relation between the various elements of the wrapping machineof the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, enlarged plan view taken along the plane oflines 6-6 of FIG. 3 with certain parts broken away and shown in section,and illustrating the actuating mechanism for the crossfeed and infeedpushers.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, elevational view partly in section, taken alongthe plane ofline 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged top plan view of the lowering table with partsbroken away to show some of the operating mechanism which forms a partof the automatic control for varying the length of1wrapping material webfor different size packages;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the lowering table looking in thedirection of the arrows along the plane of line 9-9 of FIG. 8-,

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary, perspective view of a detail ofthelowering table;

FIG. 11 is a vertical, longitudinal sectional view through the machine,taken substantially along the plane of line 11-11 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary, vertical sectional view at one endof the machine taken along the plane ofline 12-12 of FIG. 4 showing apart of the drive mechanism for feeding a web of wrapping material tothe wrapping station;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary, perspective view of another detailof the outfeed pusher which moves along the surface of the loweringtable;

FIG. 14 is a transverse sectional view taken along the plane ofline14-14ofFlG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary, perspective view of a detail of a part of themechanism of the lowering table shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary, detail perspective view of the vacuum-holdingdevice for holding the leading end of the web at the wrapping station;

FIG. 17 is an enlarged fragmentary and somewhat schematic view, shown inside elevation, of the position of certain parts of the machine at thetime the package is pushed onto the lowering table from the platform;

FIG. 18 is a view similar to FIG. 17 but showing the infeed pusher beingpartially retracted and the folder bar down against the gripper bar withthe bight of the web of wrapping material gripped therebetween;

FIG. 19 is a view similar to FIG. 18 but showing the wrapping materialbeing cut after the lowering table, folder bar and gripper bar havebegun their downward movement;

FIG. 20 is a view similar to FIG. 19 but showing the lowering table,package, folder bar and gripper bar in the lowermost position thereofand the receiving table in position for receiving the wrapped package;

FIG. 21 is a view similar to FIG. 20 but showing the wrapped package onthe receiving table where it has been pushed by the outfeed pusher;

FIG. 22 is a view similar to FIG. 21 but showing the package resting onthe downfolder supports above the receiving table while the supports andlowering table are still moving upwardly and just before the package isready to be conveyed along the plows to the heat-sealing device;

FIG. 23 is a fragmentary, perspective view of a part of the machineshowing the outfeed conveyor and plows, as well as the conveyor whichcarries the package over the heat-sealing device, and looking in thedirection of the arrow shown at 23 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 23a is a fragmentary, perspective view of a detail to illustrate itmore clearly than may be seen in FIG. 23;

FIG. 24 is a fragmentary, transverse sectional view taken substantiallyalong the plane ofline 24-24 of FIG. 23;

FIG. 25 is a fragmentary, perspective view of the heat-sealing stationwith certain parts broken away for the sake ofclarity, and taken alongthe plane and looking in the direction of the arrow at 25 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 26 is an enlarged perspective view of a detail of the heat-sealingdevice shown in FIG. 25;

FIG. 27 is an end elevational view of the heat-sealing device takenalong the plane ofline 27-27 of FIG. 25;

FIG. 28 is a transverse sectional view of the heat-sealing device takenalong the plane ofline 28-28 ofFIG. 25, and

FIG. 29 is an exploded, perspective view of the main drive shaft withthe operating cams thereon and some of the operating parts of themachine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now more particularly to the drawings,and especially to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown somewhatdiagrammatically a wrapping machine which embodies the features of thepresent invention as it is intended to be associated with other devicesso that a package may be wrapped, weighed, and labeled automatically.The wrapping machine is indicated generally by the numeral 1 while thenumeral 2 illustrates in general the location of the sealing stationwhich heat seals the wrapping material on the bottom of the package. Inthe event the wrapping material being used is heat shrinkable, there isprovided a heat tunnel generally indicated at 3 through which thepackage passes and which has the interior thereof heated to anappropriate temperature for shrinking the wrapping material about thepackage.

The numeral 4 indicates generally the scale or weighing sta tion ontowhich the package is moved by suitable conveyor means from the heattunnel. The weighing scale will register the weight of the package andwill cause a label to be printed bearing the package weight thereon. Theprinted label is then delivered to the labeler generally indicated at 5,which then applies the label to the appropriate package theretoforeweighed.

The combination of a wrapping machine with a weighing scale and labelerhas been known and used heretofore. However, in addition to the featuresof the invention which relate specifically to the wrapping and sealingdevices, the invention also contemplates an improvement whereby themachine operator may place a package to be wrapped on a conveyor and thewrapped, weighed and labeled package will be returned to the sameoperator at a different level.

This feature of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 whereinthe numeral 6 represents generally the infeed conveyor. FIG. 2illustrates a package P being conveyed along the infeed conveyor 6 to acrossfeed pusher 7. This delivers the package to the wrapping stationand positions it in front of the infeed pusher 8. As will be explainedmore fully hereinafter, the infeed pusher 8 will push the packagethrough a web of wrapping material onto a lowering table which willtransport the package to a lower level during which time the wrappingmaterial is measured and cut so that it is then draped over the top ofthe package and hangs downwardly therefrom.

The lowering table has an outfeed pusher thereon which pushes thepartially wrapped package onto a receiving table and the package is thenmoved by an outfeed conveyor through suitable downfolders and plows tocomplete the wrap. As the package moves through the heat sealer, heattunnel, and across the weighing scale and labeler, it is fed outwardlyof the machine assembly onto a shelf indicated at 9 in FIGS. 1 and 2. Itis noted that the shelf9 is at a slightly lower level than the infeedconveyor 6 but is still at a height convenient to the operator. A shelfor conveyor 10 is then provided at a still lower level from the shelf 9so that the operator may remove several packages at a time and placethem on the shelf Ill without lifting them, and from which they may becarried away from the machine and either placed in storage or on displayin a store for sales purposes.

A shelf or conveyor 11 is also provided onto which the original packagesto be wrapped may be placed. The machine operator will remove packagesto be wrapped from the shelf 11 and place them on the infeed conveyor 6.The wrapped packages are returned to the operator on the shelf 9 and hethen moves them onto the shelf or conveyor 10. Thus, the entireoperation may be handled by a single person and the infeed conveyor 6,as well as the shelf 9, may easily be located at a height which isconvenient for the operator.

Another feature of the invention which may be understood by viewing FIG.2 is the automatic squaring up" of the package. To achieve this result,the infeed conveyor 6 consists of a substantially horizontal stationarysurface 12 along which a plurality of spaced pusher bars 13 may move. Asmay be seen more clearly in FIG. 29, the ends of the pusher bars 13 aremounted on endless chains 14 and are driven continuously from the maindrive shaft.

A package P may be placed on the stationary surface 12 in a haphazardmanner in substantially any position. As the next succeeding pusher bar13 moves toward the crossfeed pusher 7, it will come in contact with thepackage and cause it to square itselftransversely of the conveyor.

It is immaterial where the package is located on the conveyor withrespect to the sides thereof because it will always be delivered to aposition in front of the crossfeed pusher 7. This has the advantage thatthe machine operator need not take the time to be careful to place thepackages on the con veyor in just the right position. He may place themthereon haphazardly and they will always be delivered to a position infront of the crossfeed pusher. Since this pusher has a definite andpredetermined length of travel, it will always deliver the package infront of the infeed pusher 8 regardless ofwhere the pusher 7 may pickupthe package.

GENERAL ARRANGEMENT The arrangement of the various elements of themachine with respect to each other, as as the power source and thedevices which impart motion to the elements of the machine, may beviewed generally by reference to FIGS. 3, 4, II, and 29. The machineconsists ofa frame generally indicated by the numeral 15 which comprisesthe spaced bottom angle members l6 which extend longitudinally of themachine. Upright bracing end members 17 and 18 extend upwardly from thelower side members 16 and the frame is supported by the legs 19 and 20at each side of the machine. The uprights l7 and 18 are connected byanother longitudinally extending angle member 21 at the top thereof.Intermediate the two ends of the frame the lower and upper members 16and 21 may be connected by intermediate bracing and support members 22and 23.

A main drive shaft 24 extends transversely of the frame and is journaledin suitable bearings at the ends thereof. The drive shaft is driven by amotor 25 through suitable gear reduction means 26. As will becomeapparent hereinafter, the drive shaft 24 has several cams spaced alongthe length thereof, all of which are driven to impart certain mechanicalmovements to achieve the end results.

THE INFEED DEVICES As explained hereinabove, the infeed conveyor 6positions a package P to be wrapped in front of the crossfeed pusher 7which delivers it to a position in front of the infeed pusher 8.

The platform across which the package moves from the infeed conveyor isidentified by the numeral 27 and may be seen particularly in FIGS. 4, 6and 11. In FIG. 6 the platform 27 has been broken away in certain areasto illustrate more clearly the drive mechanisms located therebelow forimparting movement to the crossfeed pusher 7 and the infeed pusher 8.

Reference to FIG. 6 will now be made for some of the operating partsalthough FIG. 4 also illustrates those elements which lie above theplane of the platform 27. This platform is provided with an elongatedslot 28 which extends transversely of the machine frame so that thepusher member 7 above the platform may be suitably secured to areciprocating carriage 29 located below the platform 27. This carriage29 is adapted to slide along the length of the guide tracks 30. A rod 31is connected at one end thereof to the carriage 29 and is connected atits other end, as at 32, to one arm 33 of a bellcrank lever. Thisbellcrank is pivotally secured to the frame at 34 and has its other arm35 connected at the end thereof, as at 36, to an elongatedlongitudinally extending rod 37.

It will be evident that a rotative movement of the bellcrank in aclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 6, to the dot-dash line positionthereof, will cause a movement ofthe connecting rod 3|, carriage 29, andcrossfeed pushcr 7, in a direction transversely of the machine. Rotationof the bell crank in the opposite direction, counterclockwise, back toits original full line position of FIG. 6, will return the pusher 7 backto its original position, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, where it is readyto pick up another package placed in its path of movement by the infeedconveyor 6.

The reciprocating rotary movement of the bellcrank is caused by alongitudinal reciprocation of the connecting rod 37 which is secured atits opposite end to an upright rocker arm 38. This arm may be seen inFIGS. 11 and 29 and consists of two parts 38a and 38b pivotallyconnected together at 38c. Referring especially to FIG. 29, it will benoted that the lower end of the part 3817 of the rocker arm 38 ispivotally mounted on the frame at 39. Intermediate the ends thereofthere is provided a cam follower 40 which is urged into contact with theedge of cam 41 mounted on the drive shaft 24 by means such as spring38d. It will be evident that as the cam 41 rotates, it will cause arocking movement of the arm 38 about its bottom pivot 39 to reciprocatethe rod 37, thereby imparting a rotary reciprocating movement to thebellcrank lever consisting of the arms 33 and 35, and a reciprocatingmotion of the crossfeed pusher 7.

As may be seen in FIG. 4, there is a stop member 382 on the platform 27against which a package will abut when being pushed by pusher 7. Whenpackages of greater width are wrapped, the pusher 7 will stop short ofits normal travel, but cam 4] (FIG. 29) will continue to urge arm 38against tension of spring 38d to allow part 38b to move and 38a to stopand position the package in front of pusher 8. This infeed pusher 8 hasa rearwardly extending portion 42 connected thereto and a downwardlyextending part 43 (FIGS. 11 and l722) which passes through a slot 44 inthe platform 27 which extends longitudinally of the machine.

The downward extension 43 of the infeed pusher is provided with acrossmember 45 (FIGS. 6 and 29) extending transversely of the frame, andwhich at its other end is connected to a sleeve 46. This sleeve receivesa guide rod 47 which extends longitudinally of the frame and along whichthe sleeve and infeed pusher member are adapted to slide. When thissleeve 46 is caused to move toward the left, as viewed in the variousfigures of the drawings, it will cause the infeed pusher 8 also to movetoward the left, thereby to feed a package from the platform through aweb of wrapping material and onto a lowering table, as will becomeapparent hereinafter.

FIGS. 6 and of show a rod 48 connected at one end to the sleeve 46 andat its other end it is connected at 49 to the upper end of a secondrocker arm generally indicated at 50 and consisting of two parts 500 and5011, which also extends upwardly from the lower part of the frame andis pivotally mounted at 51 for rocking movement about its lower end. Thetwo parts are pivotally connected at 500. Intermediate the ends of part50b of arm 50, a cam follower 52 is mounted and is urged by spring 50dinto contact with the edge of a cam 53 also mounted on the drive shaft24. Rotation of the cam 53 through one revolution will cause the arm 50to rock back and forth pulling the sleeve 46 in a reciprocating movementalong the guide rod 47, thereby reciprocating the infeed pusher 8 acrossthe platform 27 for feeding a package which has been delivered to aposition in front of the pusher.

The mechanism for driving the chains 14, to which the transverse pushermembers 13 are connected, may best be understood by reference to FIGS. 3and 29. One end of the drive shaft 24 has mounted thereon a sprocket 54to which an endless chain 55 is engaged. A second and preferably smallersprocket wheel 56 mounted on a shaft 57 has the chain 55 trainedtherearound so that a clockwise movement of the drive shaft and sprocket54, as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 29, will impart a clockwise movement to theshaft 57.

A second and larger sprocket wheel 58 is also mounted on shaft 57 whichhas the two smaller sprockets 59 and 60 associated therewith, onethereabove and one therebelow. A chain 61 is trained around the twosmaller sprockets 59 and 60 as well as a part of the sprocket 58. Thechain also engages a sprocket wheel 62 mounted on the shaft 63. Thus,with this arrangement the clockwise rotation of shaft 57 and sprocket 58will impart a counterclockwise rotation of sprocket 62 and shaft 63.This latter shaft also has mounted thereon a sprocket 64 which engages achain 65 also trained around a sprocket 66 on shaft 67. This lattershaft also will rotate in a counterclockwise direction.

The spaced chains 14 are trained around suitable sprockets on shaft 67at one end of the conveyor and around suitable sprockets on shaft 670 atthe opposite end of the conveyor 6. This arrangement thereupon imparts acontinuous movement of the upper reach of chain 14 in the direction ofthe arrow in FIG. 29, thereby carrying with it the crossmembers 13 tofeed a package placed on the surface 12 to a position in front ofthecrossfeed member 7.

THE LOWERING TABLE As mentioned hereinbefore, after the package P whichis to be wrapped has been delivered to a position in front ofthe infeedpusher 8 on the platform 27, it is pushed through a web of wrappingmaterial onto a lowering table. The details of the table and the partsconnected thereto may be seen in FIGS. 8 and 9 but it may also be seenin a general way in FIGS. 4 and 11. FIGS. 17 through 22 shown thelowering table more or less schematically as it is being lowered for thewrapping operation and then elevated back to the level of the platform27.

The web of material W may be seen in FIG. Ill as extending from a rollof such material and over a roller 68 from which it hangs downwardly ina substantially vertical plane between the platform 27 and the loweringtable, which is generally indicated by the numeral 69, and transverselythereof. One of the features of the invention is the manner in which aplurality of rolls of wrapping material are stored when not in use andmay be moved to a useable position. This feature, however, will bedescribed in greater detail hereinafter, it being sufficient for presentpurposes merely to note that the web of material is draped over theroller 68 and hangs downwardly therefrom. i

The lower or leading end of the wrapping material W is held againstmovement by suitable means until the package P moves through the web andcarries it onto the lowering table at which time the leading end iscaused to be released. In the particular embodiment of the invention asdisclosed herein, such leading end of the wrapping material is held inplace against a bar by means of a vacuum.

A blower 70 is mounted in the frame of the machine to which flexibletubes 71 and 72 are attached (FIG. 3). The blower is arranged to createa vacuum in the flexible tube 71 and to blow air through the tube 72. Aswill become apparent later in this description, the tube 72 leads to theheat tunnel where the air is heated for shrinking the wrapping materialabout the package in the event the material is of a heat shrinkabletype.

The tube 71 is connected to a hollow bar 73 (FIGS. 11 and 16 through22). One face of the bar 73 is provided with a plurality of holes 74 sothat the vacuum in the hollow bar will draw the leading end of the web Wagainst it and hold it in place until the force of the package P movingonto the lowering table will pull it free of the vacuum.

The cutting means is fixed to the bar 73 and extends transversely of themachine therebelow. The preferred form of such cutting means which-cutsthe web at the desired length consists of a knife edge 75 which ispreferably serrated and spaced from the bar 73, thereby to provide achannel or space behind the knife 75 and to enable the web of wrappingmaterial to be wedged over and behind the knife edge. As will appearhereinafter in greater detail, the web of wrapping material will becomewedged behind the knife edge forming a bight of the material over theedge so that downward movement of the lowering table will tear the webacross the knife edge to cut it to the proper length.

The lowering table 69 is provided with an upper surface 76, a part ofwhich is shown broken away in FIG. 8, so that certain mechanism mountedon the table below the upper surface thereof may be seen.

The lowering table is provided at opposite sides thereof with an apron77 to which the upper ends of the spaced downwardly extending legs 78may be secured (FIGS. 3, 11 and 29).

The lowering table is caused to be raised and lowered by suitablemechanism operated from the drive shaft and is caused to remain in asubstantially horizontal position by means ofa parallelogram arrangementwhich may best be seen in FIGS. 11 and 29. A pair of spaced upper arms79 are pivotally mounted at one end thereof, as at 80, to the legs 78.The opposite ends of the arms 79 are mounted to rotate about the fixedshaft 57. The shaft 57 is mounted on the spaced supports 81 secured tothe frame of the machine.

The bottom of the parallelogram consists of an elongated shelf or platemember 82 formed at one end thereof into the spaced arms 83 pivotallymounted, as at 84, to the legs 78. This plate or shelf 82 extendsbetween the supports 81 and is pivotally secured between the endsthereof to the supports 81 by means of the elongated pivot pin 85extending therethrough. The end 86 of the shelf 82 has a tension spring87 secured thereto and which is mounted on the frame normally urging theend of the shelf downwardly and the table upwardly, thereby acting ascounterbalancing means which, as will presently be seen, results inlessening the pressure of a cam follower against the cam on the driveshaft which causes the lowering table to move up and down.

A substantially vertically extending link 88 is pivotally secured at itsupper end to the shelf82, as indicated at 89. The lower end of the link88 is likewise pivotally secured as at 90, to the outer end of one arm91 of a bellcrank lever 92. This lever is mounted for rotation about apivot pin 93. The other arm 94 of the bellcrank 92 has a cam follower 95mounted thereon which bears against the cam surface of the cam 96.

Thus far it will then be evident that as the cam 96 rotates with thedrive shaft 24, it will impart a rocking motion to the bellcrank 92,thereupon imparting a raising and lowering of the table 69 through thelink connection 88.

The lowering table 69 is provided on the upper surface thereof with anoutfeed pusher 97 against which the leading edge of the package P bearsthrough the web of wrapping material as the package is moved onto thetable by the infeed pusher 8. This outfeed pusher 97 may be seen inFIGS. 4 and 11 in the general assembly of the machine and may be seen ingreater detail by reference to FIGS. 8, 9, 13, and 14.

Referring now especially to FIG. 13, the front face of the outfeedpusher 97 is recessed, as shown at 98, for a purpose which will appearmore fully hereinafter. A pair of spaced arms 99 and 100 extendrearwardly from the face of the pusher and embrace a mounting member 101to which they are secured. This member 101 is channel-shaped and hasoutwardly extending flanges 102 and 103 through which the pusher ismounted on a sliding carriage generally indicated at 104 in FIGS. 10 and14.

The carriage 104 is formed with a pair of laterally spaced sleevemembers 105 and 106 connected by a crossmember 107. Spaced guide rods108 and 109 extend longitudinally of the lowering table and are receivedby openings in the spaced sleeve members 905 and 106 whereby thecarriage 104, with the pusher 97 mounted thereon, may slide back andforth across the top of the lowering table 69.

An elongated pin 110 is fixed to and extends downwardly from thecarriage 104 so that it may travel back and forth with the pusher.

A fabric belt 111 extends around the front and rear edges of thelowering table and across the top thereof. One end of the belt isrelatively narrow and is secured to the outfeed pusher 97 by anysuitable means, but in the form shown for example in FIG. 13, the end ofthe belt is clamped between the plates 112 and 113 which in turn aremounted on the pusher 97. From the rear of the pusher the fabric beltextends around the rear edge of the table and therebelow back to thefront edge thereof and over the upper surface of the table, as may beseen for example by the dot-dash lines in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10. The otherend of the belt passes around a retainer bar 111a and is secured to thepusher 97 by suitable bolts passing therethrough and through the flanges102 and 103. As the pusher 97 recedes along the table under pressure ofthe package being pushed by the infeed pusher 8, the upper reach of thebelt 111 will move rearwardly and the lower reach will move in theopposite direction. The belt is suitably slotted to receive the pin 110to allow it to move with the outfeed pusher 97 in its reciprocatingmovement across the tabletop.

The foregoing describes the lowering table, the outfeed pusher mountedthereon, and the mechanism which causes the table to be raised andlowered. There are, however, a number of other elements which becomeoperative during the wrapping of the package which are mounted on thetable or which are otherwise associated therewith, each of which will bedescribed separately to facilitate understanding thereof.

AUTOMATIC SENSING DEVICE An important feature of the wrapping machineand which forms a part of the present invention is the provision ofsuitable means to prevent the infeed pusher 8 from moving through theweb W of wrapping material when no package is present to be moved ontothe lowering table. If this were to occur, the leading end ofthe webwould be pulled away from the vacuum retainer and would hang looselybetween the platform 27 and table 69 and would have to either be putback in place by hand or possibly obtain an unsatisfactory wrap the nexttime a package is pushed onto the table. When the machine operates inthe absence of a package to be wrapped, a sensing device will stopadvancement of the infeed pusher 8 before it reaches the web of wrappingmaterial. When a package is present, the sensing device is caused tomove out of the path of movement of the infeed pusher and allow it tocontinue movement in order to feed the package onto the lowering table.

The sensing device is indicated generally by the numeral 114 and may beseen in FIGS. 6 to 9, 11 and 16. The device includes a verticallyextending plate 115 provided with an elongated slot 116 therein. Thisplate is mounted on one side of the bar 73 or on a suitable part of themachine frame by means of a pair of bolts 117 which pass through theslot 116 and allow the plate to reciprocate up and down. A substantiallyhorizontally disposed plate 118 is secured to the upper end of plate 115and moves therewith in its up and down motion.

Mechanism is provided to elevate the plates 115 and 118 to an upperposition so that the plate 118 will be in the direct path of movement ofthe crossmember 45 (FIG. 6) which moves the pusher against the plate 118when no package to be wrapped is present. When a package is present, thereceding movement of the outfeed pusher 97 will allow the plate 118 todrop downwardly out of the path of movement of the cross member 45connected to the infeed pusher 8.

This last mentioned mechanism includes a rod 119 mounted on theframework of the lowering table and is supported for a longitudinalsliding movement in supporting legs 120 and 121 ofa bracket 122 (FIGS. 8and 9).

Bumper discs 123 and 124 are secured to the rod 119 in spaced relationthereon whereby pressure against bumper disc 123 in one direction willmove the rod 119 rearwardly out of the path of the plate 115 to allow itto drop downwardly. Pressure against the other bumper disc 124 in theopposite direction will move the rod 119 outwardly into the path of theplate 115 of the sensing device.

This back and forth movement of the rod 119 is caused by the actuator125. This actuator, as illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 15, consists of anelongated rod, one end 126 of which is bent at right angles and mountedin a supporting block 127 for pivotal movement. The opposite end 128 ofthe actuator 125 is bent so that it may ride on the rod 119 between thetwo bumper discs 123 and 124.

A tension spring 129 is mounted at one end thereof to a stud 130 locatedat one end of a rotating block member 131 pivotally mounted at itsopposite end to rotate with respect to the actuator 125. Adjacentthereto is a fixed stop member 132 against which an adjustable stop 133,movable with the block 131, is adapted to abut to limit the rotativemovement of the aforesaid block. The other end of spring 129 is secured,as at 134, to a fixed bearing member 135 extending inwardly from a sideof the lowering table. As will presently be seen, the stud 130 extendsinto the path of movement of the actuator 125.

Intermediate the ends of the actuator 125 there is provided a bracket136 which has slidably mounted between the sides thereofa finger 137,one end of which is provided with a cam surface 138. This finger isspaced from the actuator 125, as may be seen in FIGS. 8 and 15, asufficient distance to enable the rod to be received therebetween.

The position of the various parts shown in FIG. 8 shows the outfeedpusher 97 in a retracted position where it would be if there were apackage on the table in the process of being wrapped. It is understood,of course, that the exact position of the pusher would depend upon thelength of the package being wrapped. The longer the package, the greaterwill be the distance through which the pusher will be retracted as thepackage is moved onto the table. For purposes of illustration, however,FIG. 8 shows the pusher 97 retracted as though an average sized packagewere present on the table.

The actuator 125 in its full line position of FIG. 8 has contactedbumper disc 123 and moved it, together with rod 119, rearwardly so thatthe rod has been removed from the path of plate ofthe sensing device114. It will be noted also that in this position the spring 129 haspulled the block 131 so that the stop 133 will be abutting against thefixed stop member 132. In this position the stud 130 will be out ofcontact with the actuator 125.

The various parts will remain in this position during the time that thelowering table moves downwardly. When the table reaches its lowermostposition, the outfeed pusher 97 will be caused to move forwardly fromthe position thereof in FIGS. 8 and 20 all the way to the forward edgeof the table in order to deposit the package on a receiving table.During this movement the pin 110 moves forward until it contacts theactuator so that continued movement of the pusher will carry theactuator with it. The actuator will first strike the stud so that theposition of the actuator 125, the rotating block 131, and the bumperdisc 124 will all be in their dot-dash line position shown in FIG. 8where the actuator's position is identified at 125a.

As soon as the package has been deposited on the receiving table, theactuating member for the outfeed pusher 97, as will presently bedescribed, allows the spring 129 to exert its tension to pull the block131 and actuator 125 back a relatively short distance to the point wherethe actuator 125 may lie idle against one side of the bumper disc 123 asshown in its dotdash line position in FIG. 8 identified at 1251). Atthis point the stop 133 will abut against the stop member 132 so thatthere will be no force against the actuator 125.

In this position the rod 119 will be fully extended to a position belowand in the path of the plate 115 of the sensing device 114. Also, thepin 110 will still be positioned between the actuator 125 and the finger137.

As the lowering table continues to move upwardly, the rod 119 willeventually come against the lower edge of the plate 115 and move itupwardly so that the sensing device will then be in the path of movementof the crossmember 45 of the infeed pusher 8.

When the next package is pushed onto the lowering table from theplatform 27 by the infeed pusher 8, it causes the outfeed pusher 97 torecede carrying with it the pin 110. During the initial part of thismovement, pin 110 will bear against the inner edge offinger 137 causingactuator 125 to move toward the left to the full line position thereofshown in FIG. 8, whereupon pressure against the bumper disc 123 willcause the rod 119 to retract and allow the sensing device to dropdownwardly out of the path of the crossmember 45 of the infeed pusher 8.At this point the pin 110 will clear the finger 137 and continue to beretracted as far as may be necessary, depending upon the length of thepackage being fed onto the table.

The finger 137 is spring biased and is provided with a cam surface 138merely as a safety feature so that if the actuator Y III 125 shouldbecome moved inadvertently toward the right from the solid line positionthereof in FIG. 8 without the pin 110 being in its proper location withrespect thereto, the pin can be moved manually toward the actuator sothat the finger 137 is retracted and allow the pin to again contact theactuator 125.

AUTOMATIC DETERMINATION OF WEB LENGTH Another important feature of thepresent invention concerns the automatic regulation or determination ofthe proper length of wrapping material web for various sized packages.The selection of a proper width of web material for different widths ofpackages may be simply achieved by providing a roll of wrapping materialhaving a predetermined width. Even packages of the same width, however,may very often have dif ferent lengths necessitating a variation in thelength of web necessary to completely enclose the package.

A feature of the machine of the present invention involves the automaticdetermination of the length of web, depending upon the length of thepackage being fed by the infeed pusher onto the lowering table. Ingeneral it may be noted that as the package to be wrapped is moved ontothe lowering table, it carries with it the leading end of the web andcauses the outfeed pusher to recede along the table. A folder bar iscaused to move downwardly past the front of the table and down to agripper bar carrying with it the web of material. The position of thegripper bar will vary depending upon the length of the package, i.e.,the longer the package, the greater the distance downwardly will thegripper bar be moved. Thus, when the folder bar moves the web downwardlyto the gripper bar, the lower the bar is positioned, the greater will bethe length of web which will be cut and wrapped around the bottom of thepackage.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 8, 9, 11, 17-22, and 29, the gripperbar which extends across the front of the lowering table 69 isidentified by the numeral 147. This bar is provided at each end thereofwith rearwardly extending arms 148 pivoted to rotate about the rod 149positioned at the rear of the table. Intermediate the ends of each arm148 there is located a cam follower 150.

At each side of the table a cylinder. cam 151 is mounted on a verticalrod 152 suitably mounted on the lowering table for rotation. Rotation ofthe rods 152 will cause a corresponding rotation of the cams 151,thereby causing the arms 148 and gripper bar 147 to be raised orlowered.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show this particular arrangement more clearly and thesloping surface of the cam 151 may be seen in FIG. 9. When the cams 151have been rotated to the point where the cam followers 150 rest upon thehigh points thereof, the gripper bar will be in the uppermost position.At this time the outfeed pusher will be positioned at the front of thelowering table after it has pushed the package onto the receiving table,and likewise when the table is in its uppermost position ready toreceive another package. FIGS. 8 and 9 show the pusher 97 retracted inthe position it would assume when a package has been pushed onto thelowering table and it will be noted in FIG. 9 that the cam follower 150is intermediate the low and high points of the cam 151.

Rotation of the rod 152 is caused by the crossbars I53 and 154. One endof each of these crossbars is secured to one of the rods 152. Crossbar153 is provided with an elongated slot 155. while the bar 1541 has asimilar elongated slot 156. As shown in FIG. 8, these bars 153 and 154intersect and cross each other. A pin or bolt 157 extends upwardlythrough the slots 155 and 156 and into the carriage 104 (see also FIGS.14 and 15) whereby reciprocation of the pin or bolt 157 with thecarriage 104 and pusher 97 along the surface of the lowering table willcause the crossbars 153 and 154 to have a scissorslike motion and willrotate the rods I52.

Viewing FIG. 8 for example, when the pusher 97 is at the front of thetable before receiving a package, each cam follower 150 will be restingon the high part of the respective cam 151. As a package is fed onto thetable from the infeed pusher 8, the outfeed pusher 97 will recede towardthe left in FIG. 8 causing a clockwise rotation of crossbar 153 and itscam 151, and a counterclockwise rotation ofcrossbar 154 and itsassociated cam 151.

This will result in a downward movement of each cam follower and thearms 148 together with the gripper bar 147. Thus, the longer thepackage, the greater will he the receding movement of pusher 97 and thegreater will be downward movement of the gripper bar 147.

The folder bar, which is normally positioned above the lowering table 69and extends transversely thereof, is indicated by the numeral 158. Thisfolder bar 158 is mounted at each end thereof on the rearwardlyextending arms 159 at each side of the table. The arms 159 are mountedto rotate about the pivot 149 and each has integral therewith adownwardly extending arm 160 whereby the arms 159 and 160 form abellcrank lever arrangement.

The lower end of each arm 160 is provided at its lower end with a roller161 adapted to be received in a guide slot 162 (see FIGS. 11 and 17-l9)associated with an actuating arm 163 at each side of the machine frame.Each of these latter arms is pivoted for rocking movement about itslower end, as shown at 164, on a part of the machine frame.

Rocking movement of the actuating arms 163 may be more clearlyunderstood by reference to FIGSv 11 and 29 wherein it will be noted thatthey are connected by a crossmember 165 so that they will rock inunison. Intermediate the ends of the crossbar 165 there is secured alink 166 which is connected at its other end, as at 167, to the upperend of a rocker member 168 provided with a cam follower 169 and whichrocks about its lower end pivoted at 168a. This follower is urged intocontact with the edge of cam 170 by means of springs 171 each connectedbetween an actuating arm I63 and a suitable point on the machine frame,as shown in FIG. 11.

As the cam 170 rotates in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGS. 11and 29, the actuating arms 163 will be caused to rock back and forth. Inthe position of the parts shown in FIG. 11 where the table 69 is in itsuppermost position, the actuating arm 163 has been moved forwardlytoward the right as far as it will go and the arm 160 will likewise bein its extreme position toward the right. This will cause the folder bar158 to be in its elevated position. As the cam follower 169 reaches thelow point on cam 170, the spring 171 will pull the actuator arm 163toward the left carrying with it the arm 160 and lowering the folder bar158.

This latter position of the parts is likewise shown in FIG. 17 where apackage P is already in place on the lowering table 69 with the web ofmaterial W covering part of the package bottom and then extendingupwardly over the leading edge of the package below the folder bar 158and around the roller 68 back to the main roll of material. At thispoint the outfeed pusher 97 will have receded the desired amount toaccommodate the package, thereby rotating the crossarms 153 and 154 andthe associated cam surfaces to lower the gripper bar 147 to the properlocation for determining the correct length of material to be cut forthe particular package.

In FIG. 18 the actuator arm 163 is shown as it has been moved toward theleft, thereby rocking the arm 160 and the roller 161 also toward theleft causing the folder bar 158 to fold the web of material downwardlyand to grip it against the gripper bar 147.

These various parts are so arranged that the spring 171 will pull theactuator arm 163 as far as is necessary to drop the folder bar 158downwardly to the lowest position which the gripper bar 147 may assume.The cam 170 is so contoured that the cam follower 169 will not be incontact with it even when the actuating arm 163 has been retracted asfar as it will go because its movement will be limited by the positionof the gripper bar 147. This design will overcome any possibledifficulty which might otherwise be encountered due to any inability ofthe actuating arm 163 to move far enough to allow the folder bar 15% tomove downwardly into contact with the gripper bar M7.

Continued downward movement of the lowering table 69 will carry with itthe gripper bar 147 and the folder bar 158 which always remain the samedistance from the front edge of the lowering table during movementthereof. This, then, will determine the amount of wrapping materialwhich is properly suitable to completely wrap a package of a givenlength. The longer package will cause the outfeed pusher 97 to beretracted a greater distance, thus moving the gripper bar 147 downwardlya greater distance so that the distance between the edge of the loweringtable and the gripper bar will be greater.

THE CUTTING OPERATION The cutting knife 75 has been referred to above aspreferably having a serrated edge and as being mounted on the bar 73which has the holes 74 therein, by means of which the leading end of theweb is held against movement by vacuum. The actual cutting of the webtakes place by downward movement of the lowering table as will presentlyappear.

A wedge member or blade 172, preferably formed of a relatively flexiblematerial, is mounted transversely of the lowering table on a crossbar173 mounted at its ends on the rearwardly extending side arms 174. Thesearms are pivotally mounted on the machine frame to pivot about a point174a (see FIG. 3) in substantial alignment with the rod 149 and haveextending downwardly therefrom the arms 175 thereby forming a bellcranklever. A rocking movement of the arms 175 will cause a raising andlowering of the arms 174 and the wedge blade 172 associated therewith.

Each arm 174 is provided with an adjustable bumper 176 so that when thearm is lowered, its associated bumper will come to rest on top of thelowering table 69 as shown for example in H0. 18.

Each actuating arm 163 is provided with an extension 177 at its upperend against which a roller 178 fixed to the lower end of an arm 175 isadapted to bear. As may be seen in FIGS. 17 and 18 for example, when theactuator arms 163 are in their extreme right-hand position as viewed inthese figures, the arms 175 will have been moved toward the right,thereby to elevate the crossbar 173 and the wedge blade 172 mountedthereon. When the actuator arms 163 are caused to move toward the left,by the coaction between the spring 171 and cam 170, they are moved awayfrom the arms 175 thereby permitting the arms 174 and wedge blade 172 todrop downwardly until the bumpers 176 come to rest on the loweringtable'69.

This blade 172 and its supporting arms 174 also move downwardly with thelowering table and about their pivots 174a until the blade 172 isreceived within the space between the knife 75 and the bar 73 on whichit is mounted. in moving to this position, the gripper bar 147 andfolder bar 158 will have moved downwardly below the knife edge, as shownin FIG. 19, whereupon the wedge blade 172 will form a bight in the webof wrapping material to fold it over and wedge it behind the cuttingknife. Continued downward movement of these various parts causes the webof wrapping material to be cut by tearing it along the bight formed overthe knife edge.

Another important feature of the machine is the provision of suitablebrake means to stop the rotation of the cams 151 and hold them againstmovement after the gripper bar and outfeed pusher have reached theirrespective proper positions. If this sort of control is not exercised,the weight of the gripper bar 147 as it moves downwardly may cause acontinued rotation of the cams 151 which will cause the bar to lowerstill farther to produce a greater length of film than is necessary.Furthermore, such continued rotation of the cams would cause the outfeedpusher to rccede farther and cause it to become separated from thepackage itself. Such a brake means also obviates any difficulty whichcould be encountered due to varying inertias caused by packages ofvarious sizes and weights, when the speed at which the outfeed pusher 97recedes is so great that the inertia due to a heavy package would tendto keep it moving beyond the desired point. The

brake means herein eliminates the inertia effect and permits the machineto operate at such high speed regardless of the package weight.

In the specific embodiment disclosed herein, an electric I brake isprovided in association with each of the vertical rods 152 to grip therod and hold it against movement at a preselected time. Electric brakesas such are well known and are items which can be purchased on the openmarket and, therefore, need not be discussed in detail here.

It is sufficient as far as the invention is concerned to note that onthe drive shaft 24 a brake cam 179 is provided to actuate a switch 180at the proper time to grip the rods 152 and hold them against rotation.This is a simple electrical connection and the switch 180 is actuated toapply the electric brakes once during each revolution of the drive shaftand cam 179. The cam is timed so that as the infeed pusher 8 reaches theextent of its movement to feed the package onto the lowering table, theswitch 180 will be closed to actuate the electric brakes and preventfurther rotation of the rods 152 and the cams 151 mounted thereon.

Reference has heretofore been made to the microswitch I46 mounted at theupper end of the rocker arm 139. When the lowering table reaches itslowermost position with the web measured and cut, the rocker arm 139will be caused to move toward the right until the microswitch 146strikes the pin 110. At this moment the microswitch 146 releases theelectric brake to permit rotation of the earns 15. At that pointcontinued movement of the rocker arm 139 through the medium of the pinwill move the outfeed pusher 97 to push the package off of the loweringtable and onto the receiving table, as may be more apparent by viewingFIGS. 20 and 21.

THE PACKAG E-HOLDING FINGER A further feature of the invention involvesthe use of a finger which is automatically brought into operation tohold the package against inadvertent sliding movement after it has beenplaced on the lowering table and during the time that the web ofwrapping material is being brought over the top of the package and cut.During the downward movement of the folder bar 158 it exerts a pull onthe web of wrapping material and will tend to move the package off ofthe lowering table after the infeed pusher has been retracted along theplatform. To prevent any such inadvertent sliding movement of thepackage, there is provided a holding finger 181 which may be seen inFIGS. 8, 9 and 1719. This finger extends downwardly through a suitableopening at the forward edge of the lowering table and is mounted at itslower end on a bar generally indicated at 182 and preferably has a shapelike that shown in FIG. 8.

The finger is automatically actuated to move upwardly and be positionedimmediately behind the package P after it has been pushed onto thelowering table. The specific form of the actuating device is clearlyillustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 where it will be seen that the bar 182 hasan end portion 183 extending along substantially parallel to the edge ofthe table. The bar is then bent angularly, as at 184, and then proceedslongitu dinally ofthe table as at 185.

The fixed bearing member is provided with a pivot pin 186 to which theportion 185 of the bar 182 is pivotally mounted. The portion 185 of thebar then extends past the pivot point 186 and has a slot 187 therein toreceive a pin 188 fixed to the actuator bar 189 pivoted at 190. Anactuator rod 191 is secured adjacent one end of bar 189 and extendsdownwardly at an angle.

A crossmember 192 extends between the lower ends of the arm which raiseand lower the folder bar 158 as heretoforc explained. When the arms 160are in the position shown in FIG. 9 where the folder bar is in itsuppermost position, the crossmember 192 will be in contact with theactuator rod 191 and will have moved it toward the right about its pivot190. This will cause an elevation of the end of the actuator bar 189which will thereupon lower the forward end of the bar 182 to lower theholding finger 181 to a position below the top of the lowering table, asshown in FIG. 9. A spring 193 is secured at its upper end to the pin 188and at its lower end to a stud 194 mounted on the apron 77 of the table.This spring normally urges the actuator bar 189 and the inner end of theportion 185 of the bar 182 downwardly to position the finger- 181upwardly into the dotted line position thereof shown in FIG. 9. Thepressure of the crossmember 192 against the rod 191, however, will lowerthe finger against the tension of such spring.

Thus, when the table is at its uppermost position with the folder bar158 also elevated, the finger 181 will be lowered out of the path of anincoming package. After the package has been placed on the table and theinfeed pusher begins retracting, the folder bar will immediately beginto drop downwardly. thereby moving the crossmember 192 away from theactuator rod 191 allowing the spring 193 to exert a downward pull andelevate the finger 181 to position it immediately behind the package.

As explained above, the table then moves downwardly with its associatedparts and in cooperation with the brake-held outfeed pusher, locks thepackage against movement while the measuring and cutting of the web isperformed. As the table approaches its lowermost position, the portion185 of the bar 182 extending rearwardly from the pivot 186 willencounter the end of an upstanding rod 195 which will thereupon causesuch end of the finger bar to be elevated and the finger to be loweredthereby clearing the way for the outfeed pusher to push the package ontothe receiving table. After the package has been pushed off of the tableand the table begins to move upwardly, the folder bar will be elevatedby operation of the arms 160, whereupon the crossmember 192 will moveagainst the actuator rod 191 and cause the finger 181 to again move toits lowermost position and make way for the next succeeding package.

The recess 98 in the face of the outfeed pusher 97 heretofore referredto is to accommodate the reciprocating movement thereof during the shortperiod of time that the finger 1 81 is in its elevated position.

THE TUCKERS AND FOLDERS When the package P is pushed from the platform27 onto the lowering table 69, the web of wrapping material will extendalong a portion of the package bottom and up over the leading edge ofthe package. There will also be ends of the wrapping material extendingoutwardly beyond the ends of the package. Provision is made for tuckingthe web along each end of the package as it is moved onto the table andfor folding downwardly those ends as the folder bar 158 folds thematerial downwardly over the trailing edge of the package.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 4, 8 and 11, as well as to the schematicshowings in FIGS. 1722, it will be seen that a pair of spaced tuckermembers 196 is located on the table 69 which are mounted on rearwardlyextending arms 197. Each arm 197 is provided at its rear end with abearing member 198 allowing it to slide along the rod 149. As thepackage is pushed onto the table 69, these tucker members 196 tuck thewrapping material around each end of the package.

There is also provided a pair of downfolder arms 199 positionedimmediately above the tuckers 196, as shown in FIG. 4, and which arenormally in an elevated position as shown in FIG. 11. These downfolderarms 199 are also mounted for sliding movement along the rod 149together with the bearing members 198 of the tuckers 196. Eachdownfolder arm 199 has extending downwardly from the rear end thereof,an arm 200 which, together with the arm 199, forms a bellcrank leverwhich is rotatable about the rod 149 as well as slidable along thelength thereof. I

The lower ends of each arm 200 normally bear against the crossrod 165which extends between the rocker arms 163. The weight of the downfolders199 tends to make such bellcrank want to rotate in a clockwise directionabout the rod 149 and'thus will hold the arm 200 against the crossbar165.

As the package is received onto the lowering table 69 and reaches itsproper position thereon and after the infeed pusher 8 has been retractedalong the platform 27, the rocker arms 163 will move rearwardly, asexplained hereinabove, and will thus not only cause the folder bar 158to move downwardly, but will also allow the downfolder arms 199 to movedownwardly, which will thereupon cause the wrapping material whichextends beyond each end of the package, to be folded downwardly onto thetop of the lowering table.

As may be seen from viewing FIGS. 17-22, the web is folded across thetop of the package by the folder bar 158 which holds it against thegripper bar 147. The downfolders 199 will also fold the ends of thematerial along the ends of the package, and the lowering table will thenmove downwardly carrying these various parts with it. FIG. 19 shows thewedge blade 172 behind the cutting blade 75 which thereupon forms abight of the wrapping material thereover. In FIG. 19 the continuedmovement of the table downwardly has caused the wrapping material to bepulled across the serrated edge of the cutting blade and thereby severedfrom the remainder of the web.

This condition of the wrapping material then prevails during continueddownward movement of the table and package, as in FIG. 20, and until itreaches the lowermost position so that the outfeed pusher 97 may pushthe package off of the table and onto the receiving table. The receivingtable is designated generally by the numeral 201 and consists of twoelongated spaced rails 202 and 203 (see FIGS. 23 and 24). During themovement of the package onto this receiving table 201, the web W ofwrapping material is folded upwardly along the bottom of the packageinto overlapping relation with the initial fold along the package bottomwhich previously occurred during the movement of the package onto thelowering table.

Also during movement of the package onto the receiving table 201, thefront portions of the material extending beyond the ends of the packagewill be tucked along the ends thereof by the tuckers 204 positioned ateach side of the center of the machine, as may be seen more clearly inFIG. 23.

Each tucker is mounted on a downfolder support 205, one located at eachside of the machine center and each of which is mounted at the upper endofa supporting plate 206. Initially when the package is moved onto thereceiving table 201, the downfolder supports 205 are in a loweredposition at the same level as, or slightly below, the receiving tablerails 202 and 203. At this point the web will have been wrapped beneaththe package and the ends thereof tucked along the ends of the package bythe tuckers 204. The downfold supports 205 are then caused to moveupwardly above the rails 202 and 203 to perform a partial downfolding ofthe extending ends of the web of wrapping material.

The package is then caused to move by means of an outfeed conveyor ontothe belt conveyor 276 where the sealing of the package takes place. Asthe package is thus moved, the extending ends of the wrapping materialwhich have been partially folded downwardly, will be located outwardlyof the tuckers 204 and downfolding supports 205, and inwardly of theunderfolding plows 207. Each such plow comprises an elongated L-shapedmember consisting of a vertical leg 208 and a horizontal leg 209. Eachof the horizontal legs 209 which extend toward each other, as shown inFIG. 23, have their edges inclined and converge toward each other fromthe end thereof, which initially receives the package, toward the end atwhich the package is conveyed onto the conveyor 276. Thus it will beevident that as the package moves along the length of the downfoldersupports 205 and the plows 207, the ends of the wrapping materialpositioned therebetween as shown in FIG. 24 will be caused to be foldedunder the package so that the underfolding step will have been completedby the time the package reaches the conveyor 276 where it is sealed.

The plates 206 on which the supports 205 are mounted are maintained tomove in a vertical path by means of a secondary parallelogram comprisingthe rods 206a and 206b mounted at one end to the plate 206 and at theirother ends on the frame. (FIGS. 20-24)

1. In a wrapping machine wherein a web of wrapping material is fed froma roll thereof to a package wrapping station, the improvement whichcomprises, a. a plurality of vertically spaced supports adjacent one endof the machine, each adapted to support thereon a roll of wrappingmaterial and from which support material is incapable of being fed fromits associated roll, and b. a like plurality of vertically spacedsupports adjacent said first named plurality of supports, said secondnamed supports each including
 1. a driving shaft adapted to be operatedto feed material from a roll of wrapping material resting thereon, and2. an idler shaft c. whereby a selected one of the rolls of material maybe positioned on one of said second named supports when it is to beused, and the remaining rolls may be positioned on the first namedsupports when not in use.
 2. an idler shaft c. whereby a selected one ofthe rolls of material may be positioned on one of said second namedsupports when it is to be used, and the remaining rolls may bepositioned on the first named supports when not in use.
 2. Thecombination of elements defined in claim 1, wherein each of said firstnamed supports is located closely adjacent each of said second namedsupports, whereby a roll may be easily pushed or pulled from one supportto another adjacent thereto without lifting.
 3. The combination ofelements defined in claim 1 and means for driving all of said drivingshafts simultaneously.
 4. The combination at elements defined in claim1, including means drivingly interconnecting said driving shafts, andmeans for driving one of said driving shafts, whereby all of saiddriving shafts will be driven simultaneously.